Many economists expected the U.S. to suffer a recession last year. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in late 2022 put the odds of a recession at 63%. The prevailing logic was that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates too much, causing a substantial decline in spending that would snowball into higher unemployment and an economic downturn.
Instead, the economy remained rock-solid in 2023 despite aggressive rate hikes and elevated inflation. Economic growth actually ac